A Douglas County judge ruled on Monday that prosecutors have enough evidence to pursue the case against a former Omaha Police officer for his part in the June 5th in-custody death of Zachary Bearheels.
Scotty Payne faces a charge of Second Degree Assault in the case with another officer, Ryan McClarty, facing a Misdemeanor Third Degree Assault charge. Payne, McClarty and two other officers were fired by Police Chief Todd Schmaderer for their involvement in the incident that lead to Bearheels' death.
Payne used a taser on Bearheels twelve times, in violation of police protocol, prompting his firing and subsequent charges. In court on Monday, Mandee Kampbell with the Omaha Police Department training unit took the stand about taser procedure with Deputy Douglas County Attorney Jim Masteller asking Kampbell how Payne could have deployed his taser for eighteen seconds. Kampbell said the use of a taser is not exceed fifteen seconds, but that on could, "Take the safety off and hold the trigger down for 18 seconds.”
Kampbell trained Payne in the use of a taser and she said none of the twelve deployments were justified. "All the deployments were outside of Omaha Police policy and training standards. None of the deployments seem to be reasonable or justified and they’re excessive. He’s handcuffed and he’s not under arrest.”Payne's lawyer, Steve Lefler, then grilled Kampbell about when taser use is acceptable, with Kampbell saying that officers should never use the taser if someone is already cuffs.
Lefler retorted that when Bearheels slipped the cuffs, should he have been considered cuffed. Kampbell replied with a "no," adding that she believed the officers should have regained control of Bearheels with a minimum amount of effort.
The case will now proceed, and if convicted, Payne could face up to twenty years in prison.